It brings me joy every single time, and there is no better feeling than to pay it forward in the form of helping women get into the best shape of their lives.

It gives me gratitude to put together a class that challenges, that inspires, that motivates.

And equally, when I have the chance to step into a class as a client myself, and get my own ‘me’ hour to focus, work, and sweat.

It touches me when a client looks for advice, suggestions, encouragement and asks me. To this day, I am always honored to help, to advise, to inspire and motivate.

And it keeps me on my toes – no pun intended, seriously hehe – to continue on my own journey, in maintaining this fit life, this balanced life, this happy life that I lead. It’s not a diet, it never has been, and never will. I have reached that happy place with food and my body, and you can’t quantify how good that feels.

It feels like I was meant to do this. Because I was. And I am. And I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store. Thank you Tanya for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, and to the barre n9ne community, for being you, for your inspiration, loyalty and committment. I say it all the time, but there truly is no community like the barre n9ne community. You can’t make this happen, it’s created.

(in other news, I have a scary amount of selfies, but it was way too fun putting together this flipagram!)

Like this:

I have so much swirling in my brain and sometimes I just gotta lay it out there, whether or not it makes sense, or is all that disclosive.

File under: secrets

It’s no secret that I am marrying M. It *is* a secret when. And it’s kinda starting to kill me because there is so much I want to share, but at the same time? I can’t wait to unveil it (no pun intended!) when it actually does happen. I just need to sear the details into my brain, or into a draft post for later, yes? I just stare into M’s eyes every so often and think “I can’t wait to be his wife.”and just feel so blessed and excited and happy. And it makes the road from ‘there’ to ‘here’ more than worth it. MORE than worth it. ❤ Gah…<3

File under: operation MOVE!

We’re in countdown mode, folks! ONE more weekend living in this apartment, and less than TWO weeks until we move. It’s just crazy to me. We are surrounded by boxes (40 by my count and more to come!), we’re finalizing details for painters, and movers, and utilities and mail forwarding and it’s starting to feel so real. I cannot believe we will be homeowners. I cannot believe we will be building the next stage of our lives together so so soon. I cannot believe it is finally happening. ❤

File under: ouchie-like-whoa

Yesterday, we, at barre n9ne studio, FINALLY got to experience POUND, training for 8 hours yesterday, with lots of sweat, lots of excitement and…lots of pain. holy OW do I hurt today. I feel muscles I didn’t realize I had (who knew your hands and wrists could hurt so much from gripping weighted drumsticks aka ripsticks could HURT so badly the next day!), I have struggled to sit down on the couch, and never mind trying to get off the couch or get out of the car, I practically need a walker! Suuuuch pain and soreness, but soooo worth it! As my sister documented in her post, yesterday was the first step towards our bringing this fantastic, unique and supremely bada** workout to the studio and it’s going to be an amazing complement to barre (and running!).

File under: when ‘roughhousing’ with kitties goes awry.

As some of you may have already seen on instagram, one of my kitties, my beloved Nala, injured herself last Sunday. What, you ask? You see, M and Nala play ‘toss the kitty’ and love to rough house, and well, let’s just say that went slightly awry last Sunday, when she landed on the bed wrong and immediately limped away. Upon vet visit on Monday morning (worried kitty mom like whoa!), my Nala had a torn ligament in her right knee…also known as a torn ACL. Can you believe it? My Nals now walks with a limp and seems pretty good beyond that limp, but note to M: be careful 😉 (he felt soooo bad, he’s been babying her ever since!)

So there ya have it, a few thoughts on this Sunday. I haven’t written much lately…in part due to ‘file under: secrets’ and in part due to ‘file under: operation MOVE!’ but, I figure it’s worth a lil update with what’s shaking up in here 😉 Now, back to hobbling through the rest of this Sunday Funday 😉

One that was born out of divorce, that brought me to the here and now?

As I thought about what I wanted to post today for a barre n9ne studio instagram challenge we are doing (#b9thinkspring – 7 days of photos, from favorite pre-workout snack, to spring accessory, to someone that inspires you, to something you are thankful for), there was no question about it: I give thanks for my life, this life, the one I am living each and every day, the life I have lived as true to self as I ever have, since that day in October 2008 where my (now) ex-husband told me he wanted a divorce.

Five years. Just about five years ago?

I have no words. Just this quote, which pretty much sums it up.

Happy weekend friends…I hope you are thankful too, for wherever you are in life, for wherever it has brought you, for who you are, as a result. Be inspired.

I don’t think there is a day that goes by where I don’t say how I love the barre n9ne studio, family, community, clients, approach, workouts or our team of instructors.

It’s a journey that just keeps getting better. And just keeps getting bigger. And one where I keep finding ways to pay it forward, spread the (barre) joy, and keep sharing, sharing, sharing. Quietly inspiring, even. (my most favorite way to inspire, I might add).

This is why I am so thrilled to share my barre n9ne instructor spotlightthat posted today. Writing this just flowed naturally, every word. And it brought me back to the nearly TWO years since this journey started and I continue to be floored by it, and amazed at God’s blessings and leading me down this path, one that has truly been life changing in so so many ways.

So I leave with you my spotlight, take a read, if you would 😉 and a few fabulous sneak peeks at some of the barre n9ne photo shoot pictures. They are just fabulous!!!

I have the honor of guest posting for the fabulous Lindsay today, and I wanted to make sure you hopped over there to check it out. I’m waxing poetic on all things barre (n9ne) and the benefits of the barre…here is an excerpt:

Barre workouts never get old and they never get easier. Ever.

Unlike other workouts I have done (and I’ve done it all – from Body Pump, to heavy weight lifting, to periodization type weight training, to kickboxing, etc. etc), the workouts never get old and they never get easier. Who would have thought slow, controlled, intentional movements with 2-3 lb. weights would enact such change?

Barre workouts strengthen your legs as a runner, 360 degrees.

I love to run. But I have always have extremely tight hip flexors and somewhat weak glutes. I have noticed a huge change in the way I run, from my posture, to my body alignment, to my strength. I run stronger, better, and with more endurance than ever before. Barre workouts really strengthen every area of your leg and glutes, from quads, to hips, to glutes, to calves.

You’ll work your muscles to failure.

Contrary to what some may believe, you don’t have to just lift heavy to get your muscles to failure. This is the first workout that I have ever done where my muscles go to failure every single time, and that gives me the tone and leanness that I was always looking for in my arms and legs. Tiny movements, a zillion reps, and intentional squeezes and pulses, stimulating fast and slow twitch muscles (giving you both tone and endurance and leaning out your body).

It’s actually fun. Truly.

It’s funny…every time I write about the barre, barre n9ne, or anything related to this wonderful community of women, the words just flow and I have to physically stop myself from rambling (too much). I guess that’s why it’s called passion, right?

Other barre n9ne tidbits?

Our photo shoot pictures are coming out AMAZINGLY GOOD!! My mom is so talented, I love seeing the ones she’s been slowly sharing. I’ll share some here once they are all finished. It’s weird to see a picture of myself and actually like it. That was my first reaction. My second? Fit and happy. And belonging to a group of women that cares so much, that works so hard, that is helping hundreds of women get into the shape they’ve always dreamed of. Incredible.

I taught my first-ever barre n9ne intensive on Sunday and it was incredible! (my sister posted some thoughts here too). These are somewhat more advanced classes, jam packed, less breaks, more sweat, and an hour and 15 minutes long. I wanted to make sure to not only bring my game face and A-game, but put together a class that would give that challenge, impart some knowledge on why we do what we do – why so many reps, why fast and slow, how to connect with you core, etc., and fitting that all in is a tall order, in a sense. But it just flowed so well, I loved every sweatastic minute and personally, drank it all in. Almost a year in to being a certified instructor and it just keeps getting better. ❤

Our instagram #b9poseadaychallenge and #b9actsofkindness challenge was a huge hit! I was, and still am blown away by everyone’s creative, kind, and generous acts. It definitely made me go out of my way to share some Healthy Bites goodness as one of my acts of kindness and just be more aware of my surroundings and giving an extra compliment, hug, or smile. Every little bit helps. Truly.

Now that I’ve waxed poetic long enough for today, I hope you check out my post on Lindsay’s blog! 😉 Cheers!